For Once
by Arithion
Summary: Just how far do you go for a friend? [TakaxFuji pairing]


Yet something else that I fully lay the blame on zerotwofan for... just because it's her fault and because I can lol.  
  
Title: For Once  
  
Author: Arithion  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Genre: Sappy, General, smidgen of Angst...  
  
Pairing: *gasp* KawamuraxFuji ...Yes, I even surprised myself  
  
Chapter: One Shot!!! Seriously!... I hope  
  
Summary: Just how far do you go for a friend?  
  
Warnings: None really, just...it ended up something completely different to what I'd planned in the beginning, but hey... stories do that sometimes. Follows that episode really closely at first... um 14 or is it 15? Heh...  
  
For Once  
  
"What's wrong Fujiko-chan?" Kawamura Takashi couldn't hide the shock in his eyes as Fuji grabbed a hold of his hand. Add to that the fact that the grip, which he could tell was light, hurt like hell...and he screamed...racket or no racket. "Ah, it hu-hu-HURTS!"  
  
Fuji's eyes were open, observing him, making him feel decidedly small. There was something in his eyes that Kawamura had never seen before; something open, naked, bared and sad. So foreign to the Fuji that he knew, that Takashi couldn't even bring himself to muster a response when the other boy spoke so softly that only Taka could hear him.  
  
"You took it for me." There was guilt in the tone, guilt and note of dejection that Takashi knew was aimed at the prodigy himself. Without waiting for a response, Fuji turned to the referee. "Referee, we will forfeit this match."  
  
Shocked silence settled over the court, until Takashi finally overcame his tied tongue. He was irritated, at himself, at the way the match was going to go, at the fact that Fuji was looking at him with an expression that Taka had never wanted to see on the prodigy's face: sorrow. Kawamura poured all of that frustration into his tirade. "What are you saying? I can still perform. You know as well as I do, how much the first game means to us."  
  
Even with his racket still in his hand, Takashi suddenly felt afloat, out of his depth. Fuji was smiling once more. Taka couldn't be sure, but he was pretty certain that the smile was for him, and only him. He hadn't realised what he was saying, and he hoped that no one else but Fuji guessed the emotions behind his words. It was bad enough if Fuji had understood the thoughts going through his head, let alone that anyone else would.  
  
Slowly Fuji reached out and took a hold of Kawamura's racket, and the taller boy relaxed, knowing that somehow, through that contact, that Fuji was sharing his pain, his confusion and his disappointment. Those cerulean eyes, once more crinkled in their smile, made his expression sparkle as Fuji's low voice carried, warmth and concern evident to anyone who heard it. "It's going to be alright."  
  
Takashi looked around him, at all of his team-mates, and suddenly knew that Fuji was right. In more ways than one. He turned back to look at the still smiling prodigy, and almost blushed, just not quite.  
  
Fuji's smile brightened. "See?"  
  
And Kawamura knew Fuji had a point, and as the adrenaline suddenly left his body he fell to his knees, in front of the one person he would trust to catch him when he fell, because he had always done so up until then, in that subtle way that Fuji was always there for his friends. "Sorry guys." He murmured softly as Fuji knelt in front of him.  
  
In a tone that no one else could hear Fuji reassured him in a way that no one else could have. "I'm sorry, for making you take that risk." His head bowed slightly and tawny bangs fell into his eyes before he raised his head and locked eyes with Takashi. "I will make it up to you later."  
  
Kawamura focused on those words, a smile spread across his face, fighting off the blush. His friendship with Fuji was... different, and that promise, for promise it was, had him waiting for later with an anticipation that he didn't exactly know how to deal with.  
  
~*~  
  
They won, which in and of itself wasn't entirely unexpected, and true to his form, or perhaps because of the reassurance Fuji had given him, Takashi didn't dwell on the loss due to injury. Well, he didn't dwell on it much.  
  
The rest of the team came back to his father's sushi restaurant, and although Taka tried to pay attention to his friends, most of it was concentrated on Fuji. He made sure that the prodigy had his favourite sushi, although he couldn't understand how the hell Fuji could eat wasabi the way he did. Then again, there were lots of things that Takashi didn't understand about Fuji.  
  
As the night drew to a close, Tezuka, Oishi and the coach were the first to leave, and Kawamura had to admit that he didn't even notice them go. His attention was fixated, perhaps there where it shouldn't have been, but it was fixated nevertheless. He was helping his father clean things away, when he stepped out of the kitchen and started slightly.  
  
The room was almost empty, and although he vaguely remembered saying goodbye to most of his friends, he was still a little shocked to find just Momo, Ryoma and Eiji still there. They too made their excuses and left, smiles spread all over their faces. Still, Takashi couldn't help feel a little disappointed that he'd obviously missed Fuji's departure.  
  
With a sigh, he continued to help his father clean up, before the man shooed him off to get a shower and go to bed. It was done with a kindly smile and a tolerance that Takashi knew his father only pretended to have difficulty with. Theirs was a good father-son relationship, and he wouldn't change it for the world.  
  
Kawamura let the water pound down on him, washing away the sweat and frustrations of the day. He towel-dried his hair before wrapping the towel around his waist and heading into his bedroom. A yawn escaped him as he closed the door behind him, but he looked up with startled eyes when he heard a chuckle.  
  
His jaw gaped, before a slight blush spread over his face, thankful that the towel was tied tightly around his waist.  
  
~*~  
  
Fuji's eyes drank in the sight before him, taking in every detail he could, which was quite a lot considering that Takashi was only wearing a towel. He'd grown bored earlier and made his way up to the taller boy's bedroom to wait for him. Besides... Fuji liked surprising people... and he thought this counted as a very large surprise for the other boy.  
  
When the door closed, Fuji couldn't help but chuckle, and his amusement increased as the blush spread across Taka's face. Fuji shook his head slightly, shaking the hair free from his eyes. He'd sat himself on the bed, school shirt unbuttoned and yet only revealing what he knew to be tantalising glimpses of his pale flesh. He was leaning back on both hands and looking at Takashi through partially opened eyes, lashes obscuring the full effect of those bluey-green orbs.  
  
The prodigy could have counted the seconds it took for Taka to remember to start breathing again. Fuji cocked his head to one side, before speaking in a voice breathier than normal. "Ne, Taka-san."  
  
Takashi blinked... and blinked again, before managing to stutter out a partially coherent response. "F...Fujiko-chan..." He partially sagged against the door, eyes taking in the setting in more detail, trying to regain his composure.  
  
Fuji saw the hesitance slowly giving way to something else, and smiled, before standing up and sauntering over slowly, shirt fluttering open as he moved. He could see that gleam begin to show in Taka's eyes, and silently congratulated himself on a surprise gone well. The other boy could be so unpredictable when his blood got boiling, it'd become one of Fuji's goals to see it as often as possible...no matter the setting.  
  
He was close enough to feel the heat emanating from Takashi's skin. Fuji brushed his lips gently across the other boy's collar bone as he spoke, his voice flowing from him like a gentle breeze that made Kawamura shudder. "I promised I'd make it up to you, Taka-san." Soft lips gently applied a kiss to the nape of the half naked boy's neck. Fuji's own chest contacted the still shower-warm one of Takashi's eliciting a low growl from the other boy.  
  
Fuji grinned as he began to bite and suck alternatively. Just a little more... all he needed to do was push Taka, just that smidgen more.  
  
But the reaction even surprised Fuji. Suddenly he found himself pinned against the wall, Taka's hands on either side of his head, their noses bare inches apart. Warm, spicy breath brushed against Fuji's lips as the other teenager spoke. "I'd take anything for you, Fujiko-chan."  
  
Fuji almost shook with shock. It was a change, to have someone willing to protect him, instead of the other way around. Cerulean eyes bored into Takashi's, all pretence gone, leaving only naked emotion with an intensity that would have frightened anyone who hadn't known Fuji as long as Taka had. The prodigy's words were barely audible, the uncharacteristic pain in his voice, not quite an offering, but more like a gift. "Including me?"  
  
A verbal answer wasn't necessary, and at that moment, also far out of Takashi's grasp. It was all he could do to not give into that burning sensation he felt inside and rip off Fuji's clothes, taking him then and there. Instead he crushed his lips to those of the prodigy's, giving into sensations he'd fought for far too long.  
  
Fuji smiled into the kiss. It wasn't exactly the way he'd planned it, but at the same time there was something more about it, that the prodigy found himself sinking into. Glimpses of Takashi's fiery side, had given Fuji clues, but at the same time, he'd wondered just what it would take to get the other boy fired up without a tennis racket. And he'd never even contemplated that all it could take, was himself.  
  
Pushing those thoughts far from his mind, Fuji let himself be enveloped by those arms, explored by that kiss. Skin on skin, pulse against pulse, he found himself losing track of time, losing himself in Takashi.  
  
He let someone else take charge of a situation, and take care of him. For once, Fuji Syusuke relinquished control. For once... Fuji just let himself be.  
  
~~**~~  
  
Would really appreciate what people thought of this heh... 


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